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Union attacks hospital pool privatisation

Cancer patients will be among those hit under a plan to privatise a Sydney hospital's hydrotherapy pool, the Health Services Union claims.

Union members at the Prince of Wales Hospital, in Sydney's east, will stop work at midday on Monday to protest the move.

The hour-long protest at Randwick's High Cross Park on Monday marks the official launch of the HSU's O'Farrell Cuts, We Bleed campaign, which will travel across the state for six months to protest the NSW government's $3 billion health cuts.

HSU NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said the Prince of Wales pool "sell-off" would provide part of the $35 million in savings that hospital must find to meet the budget cuts, but would jeopardise patient health.

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"This hydrotherapy pool is crucial for Prince of Wales patients with conditions as diverse as cerebral palsy, post-polio syndrome, musculoskeletal conditions and breast cancer," Mr Hayes said in a statement.

"Yet the O'Farrell government wants to turn the pool over to a private operator, whose main imperative will be to turn a quick buck."